John August

Film Industry

The life of the unknown screenwriter

Film Industry

Justin Marks offers a look at what it’s like to be a working screenwriter you’ve [never heard of](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/my-life-as-a-screenwriter-520979):

> I had the fantasies of what this life would be like — a life that, for most, never will be a reality. I’ve wanted to write movies since I was 12 years old. I wanted trips to backlots, premieres, moments of seeing my movie on the shelf at the video store. That’s what we sign up for.

> Then there’s the other 90 percent: waking up, walking the dogs, grinding away at my computer in the clothes I slept in. Occasional fits of creative euphoria interrupted by phone calls from agents, arguments on Twitter or the dogs barking at squirrels in the yard. But when it picks up — when there’s a movie being made or a star being attached or a deal being closed — man, that high feels like it’ll last forever.

For the record, I’d heard of Justin Marks. In fact, he wrote a piece for this blog urging writers to ignore my advice and [get a manager](http://johnaugust.com/2011/get-a-manager).

Writing effective transitions

Episode - 89

Go to Archive

Directors, Film Industry, Los Angeles, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Words on the page

How you get from one scene to the next can be just as important as the scenes themselves. Craig and John talk techniques and tactics for making those cuts count.

But first there’s the issue of the $23 million lawsuit filed by two of the GI Joe writers, claiming that much of the storyline in the 2013 sequel came from their earlier work. Is this the case John and Craig have long predicted, in which unpaid pre-writing comes back to haunt the studios?

We also look at a bunch of shots we no longer need to see in movies.

Plus Craig and John have actual news, with a date for the long-promised live 100th episode in Los Angeles, and a bonus live podcast in June.

LINKS:

* [Turning the Page: Storytelling in the Digital Age](http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2013/05/turning-page.html) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
* [The Inebriati](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIv96reVlAE) from That Mitchell and Webb Look
* [Paramount & MGM Sued By ‘G.I. Joe’ Writers](http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/paramount-mgm-sued-by-g-i-joe-writers-for-23m/) and [the complaint](http://www-deadline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/G.-I.-Joe-Complaint__130506233913.pdf) from Deadline
* [Twenty Shots to Be Henceforth Retired from Film Vocabulary](http://www.reverseshot.com/article/20_shots_be_henceforth_retired_film_vocabulary) on Reverse Shot
* The Los Angeles Times on [Studios donating film set materials to Habitat for Humanity](http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/08/business/la-fi-ct-onlocation-habitat-20130508)
* Joe Nienalt and Daniel Vang’s [will-read-your-script fundraiser](http://heartwalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1044247&supid=227801200) for the American Heart Association
* Listen to [Scandal Revealed episode 221](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scandal-revealed/id566120824) featuring Matt Byrne
* Chad & Dara Creasey are on [Mistresses](http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/mistresses) on ABC
* [The Hollywood Reporter Comedy Class of 2013](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/john-hamburg-dana-fox-449162)’s writeup on Dana Fox (and John Hamburg)
* Rawson Thurber’s [We’re the Millers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We’re_the_Millers) on Wikipedia
* New dad [Sean Smith](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1091301/) on IMDb
* [Email us](http://johnaugust.com/ask-a-question) or Tweet [John](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) and [Craig](https://twitter.com/clmazin) your questions on anything
* OUTRO: Cyndi Lauper’s [Girls Just Want to Have Fun covered by Busby Marou](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJeYmzDTGqE)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_89.m4a).

**UPDATE** 5-16-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-89-writing-effective-transitions-transcript).

Ugly children and cigarettes

Film Industry, Formatting, QandA, Scriptnotes, So-Called Experts, Television, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

Has a statistician cracked the code on successful screenplay formulas? John and Craig cast a skeptical eye at a New York Times article on Vinny Bruzzese, who claims to have done exactly that.

But is the real story Bruzzese’s numbers game, or a general misunderstanding of how the film industry actually operates?

From there, we answer several reader questions before diving in on a new batch of Three Page Challenges.

LINKS:

* [Turning the Page: Storytelling in the Digital Age](http://www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2013/05/turning-page.html) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
* [Solving Equation of a Hit Film Script, With Data](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/business/media/solving-equation-of-a-hit-film-script-with-data.html?hp&_r=0) by Brooks Barnes
* Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s [Black swan theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory) on Wikipedia
* Screenwriting.io on [multicamera script format](http://screenwriting.io/how-are-multicamera-tv-scripts-formatted/)
* Three Pages by [Sue Morris](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/SueMorris.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Robin Peters](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/RobinPeters.pdf)
* Three Pages by [Kevin Pinkerton](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/KevinPinkerton.pdf)
* [FilmCraft Screenwriting](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0240824865/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Tim Grierson on Amazon
* OUTRO: Thompson Twins’ [Doctor Doctor covered by Danny McEvoy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpHAgyUKn-0)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_88.m4a).

**UPDATE** 5-10-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-88-ugly-children-and-cigarettes-transcript).

Moving On is not Giving Up

Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig discuss when to stop rewriting a project and accept that it’s just not going to become a movie. Then we go bigger to look at when to give up on the dream of being a screenwriter — which starts with a hard look at why people seek out the career in the first place.

Also in this episode, we talk reviews and the virtues of not reading them, plus a look at Zach Braff’s Kickstarter situation.

LINKS:

* Zach Braff’s [Wish I Was Here](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1869987317/wish-i-was-here-1) on Kickstarter
* ValleyWag’s [Braff-Kickstarter vitriol](http://valleywag.gawker.com/rich-person-zach-braff-wants-the-internet-to-pay-for-hi-479541247)
* Braff on [why Kickstarter is right for this project](http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/zach-braff-on-why-kickstarter-is-the-next-best-thing-to-actu), and Psychology Today on [why independent filmmakers should celebrate his presence](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-luck/201304/why-is-zach-braffs-kickstarter-campaign-causing-envy)
* Scriptnotes 49: [Losing sleep over critics](http://johnaugust.com/2012/losing-sleep-over-critic)
* Scriptnotes 77: [We’d Like to Make an Offer](http://johnaugust.com/2013/wed-like-to-make-an-offer), in which Craig discusses Identity Thief reviews
* Done Deal Pro users [try to calculate the odds of “making it”](http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/showthread.php?t=72040)
* [Stag’s Leap](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0375712259/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Sharon Olds on Amazon
* [ITER](http://www.iter.org/): The way to new energy
* OUTRO: [Last Day of Our Acquaintance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG290pRgOQI) cover by AAAdriennne

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_87.m4a).

**UPDATE** 5-5-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-87-moving-on-is-not-giving-up-transcript).